Author. 




Title 



clJ3S.12J 



Book 



.Li 



Imprint 



Jbft— 30299-1 <3f<* 






X 



ttBBABYePCoLIIss 

THE CHINESE: 



WHAT THEY ARE, AND WHAT THEY 
ARE DOING. 



BY THE .> 

EEY. W.^XOBSCHEID, 

Kniglat of the Order of Francis Joseph; Member of the Zoological and 
Botanical Society of Vienna ; Corresponding Member of the I. R. 
Geological Institute of Austria ; 1855, Chinese and Dutch Inter- 
preter to the American Embassy for the Exchange of Eatifi- 
cations with Japan; late Inspector of Government Schools 
in Hongkong ; at present, Pastor of the Un. Germ.an 
Ev. Luth, St. Mark's Church of San Francisco. 



San Feanciscoo: 
A. L. BANCROFT & CO., Pkintebs and Lithogkaphebs. 

1873. 




V 



<\ 



13 ^ i-3 



^ 



X 



\ 



V 



.^^ 






'Xi 



PREFACE. 



In offering the following paragraphs to the public, a few words of 
explanation may not be deemed superfluous. 

I advanced the same principle more than fifteen years ago. I have, 
in private and public, expressed the same sentiments to well mean- 
ing Chinese merchants of this town; have urged them to forsake 
their antiquated customs, and to begin a new life — a life of honor 
and civilization. I have, here and in China, warned them of the 
danger into which they run by continuing a life of semi-barbarism; 
and I would not have written these paragraphs, had not a bold chal- 
lenge been made by the correspondent of the Bulletin. 

I trust they will reflect on the course they are pursuing, and alter 
their modus operandi before it is too late. W. L. 

San Francisco, June 19, 1873. 



THE CHINESE: 

WHAT THEY AEE, AISTD WHAT THEY 

AEE DOIT^G. 



On the twenty-first of May, 1873, it was exactly a quar- 
ter of a century since I first arrrived in China. I had 
perused a number of works written on China and the Chi- 
nese, and my general impression was, that the population 
of China had been much over-estimated. The eighteen 
provinces which are said to have a population of 477,000,- 
000 souls, cover an area of one third of that of Europe, and 
are 300,000 square miles smaller than British India, which is 
in many places more densely populated than China. 

The population of China had for 1700 years fluctuated 
between 60,000,000 and 70,000,000 souls, and a. d. 1711 the 
number was estimated at 28,000,000. At that time Kanghi 
decreed that whatever the numerical strength of the Chi- 
nese population in future might be, they should not pay 
more taxes, should not perform more crown services than 
was fixed for that year (1711). 

This decree relieved the mandarins of much trouble and 
annoyance. The census has ever since been made (not 
taken) in the offices of the mandarins, and ever since that 
memorable year they have, in spite of war, of inundations, 
of famines and epidemics, continued adding to the popula- 
tion, until they have reached the fabulous number of nearly 
500,000,000 souls. 

A person of a moderate measure of common sense, who 
has traveled through the country beyond the river valleys, 
cannot but marvel at all the nonsense written and published 
about China. 

One of the most marvelous fictions respecting the popula- 
tion of China is exposed by Baron von Richthoven, a gentle- 
man well known in California. He was sent by the Chamber 



of Commerce of Stiangliai to Cliikiang, to explore its min- 
eral wealth and its capacity for trade. Eef erring to the 
census of 1812, he found the following statements respect- 
ing area and population: "Its area is estimated at 39,150 
square miles, and its population at 26,256,784 inhabitants, 
Tvhich is about 671 persons to a square mile." 

If we take into consideration that the population of 
Prussia increased seyenty-one per cent, within forty -two 
years, and giying a proportional increase to the proyince 
of Chikiang, the population of 1872 should haye exceeded 
50,000,000 inhabitants. 

The Baron trayersed the proyince from one end to the 
other, made inquiries as to the former and present popula- 
tion, suryeyed the area under cultiyation, and came to the 
conclusion, that Chikiang neyer had a population of 26,000,- 
000, and that the population of 1872 could not exceed 
8,000,000. 

Baron yon Huebner, the Austrian ambassador, who yis- 
ited Peking in the year 1872, was himself struck with amaze- 
ment at the exaggerated accounts of the population of 
China. "When at a diplomatic dinner with Messrs. Wade, 
Williams and Brown (the former two claiming the fii-st rank 
as authorities on Chinese affairs), the Baron requested each 
of these gentlemen to giye him his opinion as to the prob- 
able population of Peking, which Williams in his "Middle 
Kingdom" giyes at 2,000,000 souls. Wade then estimated 
the population of Peking at 500,000, Brown at 700,000 and 
Williams at 800,000. 

If we take the population of Nanking at 200,000, instead 
of 1,000,000, that of Fushan at 350,000, instead of between 
600,000 and 700,000, then we haye, eyen within the most 
densely populated parts of the empire, about one third or 
one fourth of the former estimates. If we apply this to the 
whole empire (and we may do this with perfect safety), then 
we obtain for the whole empire of China a population of 
fi-om 100,000,000 to 125,000,000 inhabitants, a number not 
too low, when we take into consideration the constant in- 
surrections, inundations, famines and epidemics preyalent 
in China, to which must be added the fearful waste of life 
by yagrancy, yagabondism, opium-smoking and other yices. 

The fabulous population of China does, therefore, only 



exist in the brain of a few superficial men, who are either 
unwilling or incompetent to take a rational survey. 

II.— THE MONGOLIAN KACE. 

There is observed a peculiar spirit of antagonism between 
the Inclo-Germanic and the Mongolian races. Wherever 
they meet, there is hostility. Whether they meet in the 
forests of America, in Asia, or on the islands of the Pacific, 
only a short time suffices to kindle the fire of hostility; and 
once kindled, it rages until one of the parties is expelled, 
exterminated, or thoroughly subdued. Hence the natives 
of this land are fast dwindling away from the arena of com- 
bat. In Borneo, Singapore, Penang, Java and on other 
islands of the Pacific, the Chinese find a cognate, though 
inferior race, whom they subdue, and with whom they mix, 
in order to keep the mastery over them. But they cannot 
advance further than Siam, Penang and Malacca, for in 
Calcutta and Madras they meet the pure Indo-Germanic 
blood, who will not intermix with the Chinese in their own 
land. Hence the small number of Mongolians in the 
British Empire of India, there being only a wretched 
colony of 300 in Calcutta, who never attain to wealth and 
influence. In Java they are wealthy traders and farmers, 
and in Borneo they are enslaving the Dayaks by lending 
them money for the celebration of their festivals. After 
having spent all their money they become the slaves 
(pandelinge) of the Chinese, a state of serfdom still recog- 
nized by the Dutch Government. 

The principal cause of the antagonism between the Indo- 
Germanic race and the Mongolians is chiefly owing to the 
unbearable pride of the latter. The Chinese have been 
surrounded by a few straggling hordes, upon whom they 
impressed a faint stamp of their own civilization. They 
accomplished this end by dint of numbers and by the 
superiority of their civilization. Separated from the civ- 
ilization of the West, and coming only into contact with a 
few half-bred individuals from Europe, who for the sake of 
gain willingly submitted to indignities, ignominies and vex- 
ations, the Chinese believed themselves to be the fountain 
of wisdom and civilization, and destined to civilize and pos- 
sess the whole world. They are accustomed to look upon 



8 

all other races as barbarians, and the civilization of Europe 
and America affects them as little as the man in the moon. 

The Indo-Germanic races have always been famous for 
their study of mathematics, philosophy, and other branches 
of science. The edifices they have erected are, even in 
their ruins, evidences of the grasp of mind that conceived 
them. 

Nothing of the kind is met with among the Chinese or 
Mongolians. Their so-called palaces, temples and dwell- 
ing houses are cheerless, barn-like edifices. There is 
nothing grand, nothing noble, no solidity in their whole 
structure. Hence cities are razed and soon rise out of the 
dust; others are constantly shifting. But the rubbish 
remains, is built upon, and dirt and filth are seen accumu- 
lating by the side of new and beautiful edifices. 

The Mongolian is physically and intellectually inferior to 
the European. He is cruel, when victorious, and fond of 
taking precautionary measures, which subject the conquered 
to unnecessary tortures. He does this more from want of 
confidence in his own bravery and courage, than from an 
innate pleasure in cruelty. Being himself timid, he is fond 
of intimidating others (even animals) by subjecting them 
to agonizing tortures. He is docile, when conquered, but 
more from shrewdness than from a delight in that which is 
just, equitable and good. He is less brave than obstinate, 
and, unable to redress a real or imagined wrong, he will 
take recourse to suicide. He will bear tyranny and op- 
pression for a long time, before offering resistance. He is 
more imitative than inventive; and in manual labor he will 
often take recourse to simple mechanical arts. He is clever, 
but has little taste. He devotes more time to useless curi- 
osities and fancy work than to grand works of art and 
science . Mathematics, chemistry, natural philosophy and 
mechanics have never been subjects of scientific research. 
He is avaricious, fond of vagrancy and of games of chance. 
His love of money makes him a habitual thief, his fondness 
of vagrancy a highway robber, and his love of hazard 
games has made him untrustworthy and quarrelsome. In 
order to obtain riches he is persevering, diligent, frugal 
and contented; but in possession of it he is apt to become 
a loathsome gourmand, a slave to sensualities, and more 



9 

inclined to tyranny than to generosity, cleligliting more in 
frivolity than in morality. Not pleasure in the pursuit of 
science, but delight in power, stimulates him in his study 
of the classical works. His mind is lacking of fervency, 
and of feelings of gratitude towards friends and bene- 
factors. The misfortune of others does not affect him to 
tears, but tempts him to laugh. In his intercourse with 
others he is reserved, shrewd and untrustworthy. Hence 
the aversion of the Indo-Germanic race to the Mongolian, 
and their greater inclination toAvards the Negro. The lack 
of regular holidays, which induce other nations to put on 
festive garments and to cleanse and adorn their dwellings, 
has made the Mongolian a habitual workman, in whom the 
sense of cleanliness is effaced. Even in the exercise of 
religion we miss that profound, devout, solemn feeling 
manifested by the Hindu. 

Let us now see what the Chinese have to say for them- 
selves. 

A letter by a Chinaman is said to have recently appeared 
in the columns of the Bulletin, of San Francisco; and the 
writer is said to have asserted, that the Chinese were as 
good as the Germans, French and Irish. Now, I maintain 
that the very reverse is the case, and I am prepared to 
prove that my opinion is shared by every nationality among 
whom the Chinese are sojourning. All that we abhor and 
dread in Jesuits is Pagan, and this principle is sanctioned 
by the Pagan religion, prevalent in China, and by the Triad 
Societies, the terror of every honest Government. 

Every Chinaman will admit, that if a person is going to 
commit a murder, he will first ask his god. After having 
received a favorable answer, he will worship him, ask his 
protection and promise him a share in the spoil he may get. 
Hence there is a compact of the wicked with a wicked prin- 
ciple. Let me illustrate what I have said. In 1857, there 
lived in Hongkong a Government auctioneer, a person of 
advanced age, and sick. His servant (Ho Apo) seeing him 
alone and helpless, asked his god whether he would pro- 
tect him in the execution of the murder of his master. The 
god replied in the affirmative. On the evening of the mur- 
der, Ho Apo, dressed in festive garments, worshiped the 
deity and sacrificed to him until midnight, when he stran- 



10 

gled the helplesss man and decamped. I was at the time 
staying at the Bishop's palace, and the guest of the Colo- 
nial Chaplain. Without knowing Ho Apo, I maintained 
that the murder would not have been committed without 
the consent of the deity. My friend, the chaplain, consid- 
ered my assertions uncharitable, and held his ground until 
Ho Apo was captured and imprisoned. After he had con- 
fessed the perpetration of the murder, my friend went to 
see and to question him, when the above details were given. 
Now let me tell John Chinaman, that such principles are 
abhorred in Germany and the rest of Europe. 

I have referred to the Triad and other secret societies, 
the plague of the colonies, where Chinese live in large 
numbers. For these societies bind their members to pro- 
tect one another, and to carry out any resolution that has 
been passed by the executive committee, however black, 
however infernal the deed may be. From this secret asso- 
ciation are issued all these orders for assassinations and 
other crimes. It is an association as black, as corrupt, as 
infernal, as the blackest principle ever conceived and exe- 
cuted by a Jesuit. Hence that which we abhor in Jesuits 
is Pagan, and this Pagan principle is infernal, dangerous to 
the peace and happiness of mankind, and this principle is 
acknowledged and propagated by the Chinese, whithersoever 
they wander. In the acknowledgment of this principle lies 
the difficulty of admitting Chinese witnesses in the Chris- 
tian courts. If this were only felt in California, we might 
attribute it to prejudice or to undue partiality; but this 
difficulty is experienced everywhere, even in Honkong, 
where the Government is inclined to favor the native ele- 
ment. Let us hear what the late Attorney-General, the 
Honorable Chisholm Anstey, says on the subject. The 
Pall Mall Ga?xtte, October 1, 1868, contains the following 
comment and extract from the work, entitled 

JUDICIAL OATHS OF HEATHEN WITNESSES. 

Mr. Chisholm Anstey has just published an interesting 
and even amusing pamphlet on the subject of the system 
adopted in our courts of law at home and in most of the 
colonies, of administering judicial oaths to people who are 
not Christians. He proposes that such oaths should be 



11 

altogether abolished; and we think that no one who reads 
his pamphlet can doubt that, if his facts are correct — and 
he appears to have taken great pains to ascertain their cor- 
rectness — his inference follows from them. Mr. Anstey very 
fairly says that he objects to all oaths, promissory, com- 
purgatory, or assertory, and whether the witnesses be 
Christians or heathens; but, without entering upon so wide 
and well-worn a discussion, his special objections to oaths 
administered to heathen witnesses deserve the careful atten- 
tion of all persons interested in the reform of the law. 

The theory upon which the use of oaths is justified is, 
that the person who takes the oath is impressed with the 
belief that divine vengeance will overtake him here or here- 
after if he commits perjury; and no doubt the practice of 
taking oaths has been so much mixed up with our political 
and social arrangements, that most people are more or less 
open to such impressions. But however this may be with 
European Christians, bred up to believe in one God, essen- 
tially holy and an enemy to falsehood, it is far otherwise 
with regard to the innumerable mass of heathens, who have 
no such belief. "Amongst the people of China," says Mr. 
Anstey, "oaths are utterly unknown, except to such of 
them as may have visited our own courts of justice." Swear- 
ing, he says, is contrary to the principles of Buddhism, and 
according to the principles of the followers of Confucius, it 
is a mere absurdity. It might naturally be supposed, how- 
ever, that it is at worst useless. Mr. Anstey takes from us 
this rag of comfort. He says, and with the greatest plausi- 
bility, that it makes the administration of justice ridiculous 
in the eyes of the Chinese, and in particular conveys to 
their minds the natural impression that perjury is no crime 
in a temporal point of view, inasmuch as we trust to the 
efficacy of charms to ensure the truthfulness of our wit- 
nesses. The mischief, however, does not even stop here. 
The whole theory of swearing rests upon the notion that 
the person taking the oath believes in its binding efficacy; 
but we, it appears, have got hold of a set of misbegotten 
ceremonies which have no meaning at all to the Chinese or 
to any one else, but which we absurdly suppose to be bind- 
ing on their consciences. Mr. Anstey declares that the 
ceremony of breaking a saucer, and telling the witness that 
in case of perjury "his soul" (it used to be his body, but 
"soul" was regarded as a more pious expression) "would 
be cracked like the saucer," is a proceeding as idiotic in the 
eyes of a Chinaman as in the eyes of an Englishman. He 
shows, indeed, by an investigation which we have not room 
to follow out, that the form was originally adopted on the 
strength of a cock and bull story, told by one Antonio at 
the Old Bailey in 1804, on the prosecution of a man named 



12 

Alsey for stealing money from a Chinese. The form was com- 
pletely unknown, and never use'd in China itself. In the 
treaty ports they used at one time to burn "paper of impre- 
cation," which, says Mr. xlnstey, always made the Chinamen 
laugh. The consequences were at once so absurd and so 
injurious, that in the years 1856 and 1857 all judicial oaths 
were abolished by a Hongkong ordinance, a warning to the 
temporal penalties of perjury being substituted for them. 

There is one objection to the administration of heathen- 
ish oaths which Mr. Anstey works out with great force, and 
which would not probably occur to any one who had not 
had the practical advantage which he has enjoyed for many 
years of seeing the system at work. At best we take ad- 
vantage of a degraded superstition which directly encour- 
ages the grossest idolatry; but, as a rule, we fail to get our 
mess of pottage. When ignorant heathen people attach 
importance to an oath, as they often do, their view of its 
character is just as abject as that of the ignorant English or 
Irish man who kisses his thumb instead of kissing "the 
calfskin of King James' Bible," as Mr. Anstey puts it. 

The heathen's god is perfectly indifferent to perjury, un- 
less it is committed in violation of a strictly prescribed 
formula. If you say pocus hocus instead of hocus pocus, 
the oath is utterly null and void. Now, it is almost im- 
possible to ascertain wLiether hocus pocus or pocus hocus 
is the true charm, and "Asiatics in general and the Chi- 
nese in particular take a singular pleasure in evading and 
overreaching any law of ceremonial imposed upon them by 
foreigners from Europe or America." "What," says Mr. 
Anstey elsewhere, "are we to say to the wild tribes scat- 
tered over Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, and many 
another outlying dominion of the Queen, swearing some by 
thunder and lightning, some by the falling tree of the for- 
est, some by earth, some by old iron, some by the missile 
of death and so forth, each after their kind, yet one and all 
consentient in two things only: 1. That they fear no other 
ordeal, and are always ready to swear with hilarity in what- 
soever spiritual name they fear not; and 2. That they hold 
in the greatest dread the temporal power and its chastise- 
ments of the crime of false witness?" He very properly 
concludes that we ought to leave the charms alone, and rely 
upon the real, substantial sanction of temporal punishment. 
He makes several good suggestions as to increasing the effi- 
ciency of this, the true sanction; and he might in particular 
have added that perjury in England is not punished with 
nearly enough severity. It may be doubted whether a judge 
should be allowed to pass a lighter sentence than that of 
penal servitude for a crime so enormous, so mischievous, so 
difficult to detect, and, we fear we must add, so common. 



13 

Now, will John Chinaman show me where in the whole 
world such general complaints are made against the Ger- 
man, the French, English and other nationalities? If he 
cannot, does he then not consider it fair and honest to have 
a consultation with his own countrymen, and to bind them 
by another oath than that black, infernal one of his secret 
society, and to compel them to appear in the courts as hon- 
est citizens, ready to support, not to evade, the execution 
of the law of a State? There is another and very grave 
complaint raised against the Chinese wherever they live, 
viz: the lack of public spirit. They have had an able ad- 
vocate in the Rev. W. Speer, who published a series of 
works in their defense, but left at last, disgusted with the 
men for whom he entered the breach. Why did the wealthy 
Chinese not come forward and place at his disposal an 
amount of money for educational purposes sufficient to 
silence all opposition ? There is an American lady here in 
town, who has now^ for years and under great trials, en- 
deavored to instruct Chinese boys and girls; but the pit- 
tance she gets comae from American pockets. There has 
never crossed her threshold one of the wealthy Chinese 
merchants, and done even as much as to thank her for her 
trouble, much less to support her, or to cheer her humble 
dwelling by a few handsome and useful presents. 

There are two institutions in San Francisco for the im- 
provement of the natives, and are maintained at great cost. 
It would be a mere trifle for a single merchant to pay for 
the whole support of one establishment; and if the 26,000 
Chinese of this town were only taxed by their companies 
half a dollar 'per caput, these institutions could get more 
efficient help, and the stigma of stinginess would be 
removed from the Chinese character. Is this lack of pub- 
lic spirit not a proof that you are Pagan, that you are 
determined to continue to be so, and that you mean to treat 
with contempt every foreigner and foreign doctrine, so long 
as you can make a dollar of profit? This feeling is the 
cause of aversion to the Chinese, and is shared by every 
foreigner who has been for some time in China. 

Shall I now tell you in what more the Chinese differ from 
Christian Europe? There are in China institutions for the 
commission of crimes, which were formerly punished with 



14 

death in Europe. These institutions are countenanced by 
the Emperor and mandarins, and are as public as any 
literary institution in China. I know of forty victims to 
this vice on one ship, during a voyage of ninety -five days. 
There is no secrecy of infanticide; and I have picked up 
many a poor child that had been cast away to perish. Only 
two years ago a baby was found buried in the ground, the 
head only being left uncovered. The baby having been 
saved by a Christian woman and carried to an institution 
in Hongkong, the raven-mother demanded of the Christian 
woman the return of the filthy jacket and cap in which the 
child was found. There is no proper provision made for 
the poor in China. Hence they oiganize themselves into 
bands, at the head of which is raised the most daring 
scoundrel, whom they call King. These men are a terror 
to their fellow-men. They levy contributions, give receipts, 
annoy or exempt from annoyance such as in their opinion 
contribute liberally or stingily to their funds. They are 
the pest of every large town of China, but are forced to 
such a course of life, else they would st-arve. The most un- 
fortunate of this class are the blind women. One evening, 
within the space of thirty minutes, I counted fifty-five of 
them as they moved along in batches of three, four, five or 
six, sounding their rattles and announcing to the public 
that they were ready for engagements for the night. Per- 
sons desirous of engaging one or two for the night 
would open their window and conclude their contract in the 
presence of all their neighbors. These poor girls are sys- 
tematically trained to singing girls and to every description 
of vice, and are seen moving about until they are rotten to 
the core. 

There is still another class of men, more dangerous than 
all the preceding. These are the lepers. Though dreaded 
by everybody, they are constantly let loose upon the pub- 
lic, wh(jm they tyrannize and terrorize if they do not give 
them what they want. They, too, are compelled to organize 
themselves into large bands, in order to extort a pittance 
for their own support. Knowing this disease to be incura- 
ble, many clans bury them alive as soon as they are 
affected. They lock them up, allow them to drink as much 
samshoo as they like, and after being so tipsy as to know 



15 

nothing of tlie world around tliem, their hands and feet are 
tied together, are put into a large jar, and the cover having 
been put upon it, it is let down into a hole of about fifteen 
feet deep and covered with earth. This happened in a place 
where I lived. There are six kinds of leprosy prevalent in 
China, and each kind is equally incurable. They are not con- 
sidered infectious, but contagious; and the malady is com- 
municated by contact with the victim, or with the virus 
dropped on the road, on a seat, or on the dress of a person, 
and coming in contact with the body, and particularly with 
a sore. The matter so absorbed acts slowly or rapidly, 
according to the virulence of the poison. It may break out 
within one year or after twenty and even thirty years. I 
know a man whose ears and face began to swell after the 
lapse of one year from the time he had contracted the dis- 
ease. There are other instances where men were affected 
without being aware of it. They married, and after the 
children had grown up, the symptoms of the disease ap- 
peared in every member of the family. This slow develop-, 
ment of the disease is the cause of the delusion of many 
physicians, who maintain that the disease is neither infec- 
tious nor contagious. 

Leprosy is a disease of the blood. When the same is 
charged with the poison, it is deposited by the capillary 
vessels in equal proportions and simultaneously on both 
sides of the body. If the presence of the poison shows 
itself on the soles of the feet or on the palms of the hands, 
it affects both limbs simultaneously and exactly at one and 
the same spot. If the face be affected, the spots appear 
on both cheeks in symmetrical opposition. Another kind 
begins with the swelling of the ears and the face, the skin 
becoming thick and undulating, the voice hoarse and losing 
its sonorousness. The disease cannot be said to be an in- 
flammatory one; it is essentially a process of putrefaction, 
which can be retarded in its progress by proper diet, and 
be accelerated by a diet of fish, salt meat and other victuals 
of a similar nature, but it cannot be cured; and that which 
has been asserted to have been cured, has not been leprosy. 
Strict isolation of the victims is the only remedy. Not 
many years ago, lepers had been allowed to perambulate 
the streets of Cape Town. The unguarded sailors con- 



16 

tracted the disease, wliicli suddenly appeared almost epi- 
demically. It perplexed the Government; and the people of 
Cape Town were terror-stricken. Upon the appearance of 
the slightest symptoms, the sufferers were then removed to 
Eobben Island, and all intercourse with the continent being 
cut off, danger is averted and the disease is disappearing. 
The frequency of the disease on the Sandwich Islands is 
owing to the unrestricted intercourse of the immigrants 
with the natives. There are now 438 lepers on the islands. 
Another plague very prevalent in China is the small-pox. 
The malady is propagated by the inoculation of the poison 
of the real small-pox. Hence the prevalence of the disease. 
It may not be superfluous to remark, that diseases are fre- 
quently propagated in a latent state. We know of sailors 
having communicated diseases to natives, which they had 
contracted long ago, but were undeveloped or in a latent 
state. Not long after their connection with the natives, the 
latter were affected with the disease unknown to them; the 
sailor being similarly affected without having come into 
contact with another person. Our measles are an instance 
of this kind. A whole family passes through the disease 
and are secure from its ravages for the rest of their lives; 
yet communicate the latent poison retained in their system 
to their offspring, wdio are then, at an earlier or later age, 
attacked by the same malady. They appear now as regu- 
larly among the inhabitants of the Pacific as among the 
inhabitants of New York and San Francisco. 

Beturning from these digressions, let me now give other 
evidence of the great difference between the Europeans and 
Americans on the one side, and of the Chinese on the 
other. To whatever place Europeans proceed, they improve 
the country. Like the ancient Greeks, they carry not only 
the capacity for learning with them, but education and a 
disposition to propagate the same. What are the wretched 
native institutions in China compared with those established 
by the passing strangers? Even in Canton, the best edu- 
cated portion of the empire, scarcely more than ten per 
cent, of the people are able to read and write, but not all 
understand what they read. I have been traveling in the 
North and South of China, have collected much informa- 
tion on the subject of education, and have come to the 



17 

conclusion, that in the country (on the average) not five per 
cent, of the people are able to read and understand even a 
common tract. Not ten per cent, of the Chinese of San 
Francisco can read and understand a common newspaper. 
This ignorance of letters is always advanced as an excuse 
for not supporting the publication of a paper. 

The foreign merchants living in China spend every year 
large sums for the improvement of the natives, for the heal- 
ing of the sick, etc. I could mention one gentleman who 
has spent at least $100,000 for the natives. There scarcely 
passes a day without somebody collecting money for chari- 
table purposes. What have the wealthy Chinese of Siam, 
Java, Borneo, Singapore, Malacca, Melbourne and San 
Francisco done for the improvement of their and other 
races? Nothing! Not a whit; and this utter blank shows 
how much lower they stand in the scale of civilization than 
the American, English, German and other nationalities. 

You may call our exertions made in the interest of Chris- 
tianity. I admit that the spring and source of all is Chris- 
tian ; but would remind you that the basis is broad enough 
to admit Jews, Mohamedans, Parsees and others, and you 
will find representatives of all these creeds uniting their 
efforts for the diffusion of knowledge among your country- 
men. And so deeply are many impressed with the disin- 
terested exertions of the agents of charity, and of their own 
obligations towards their fellow-men, that a Parsee, when 
handing a cheque for gratuitous education to a friend of 
mine, would not listen to an expression of thanks, and said : 
* ' Sir, we have to thank you for the trouble you take to in- 
struct these poor, ignorant natives." 

'' Cleanliness comes next to godliness," says an old En- 
glish proverb. I would strongly recommend both to you. 
Let me give you one illustration : When his Excellency, the 
Governor-General of Quangtung and Quangsi was a pris- 
oner of war on board the British man-of-war, he was 
observed to be constantly on the chase, and to dispose of 
his game in exactly the same manner as a fox does of a 
chicken. Now, if the highest dignitaries of a State can 
live in such an atmosphere and indulge in such gratifica- 
tions, what must we think of the common people ? 

Now as to godliness. It is well known that the Chinese 



18 

priests and mms are not merely cormpt, but coiTupting the 
families of China. If a man has committed a murder, he 
shaves his head and becomes a priest. What such agents 
may be can easily be conceived. The nuns are the worst 
of all: for men and women beincr almost equally beardless, 
there is scarcely a difference between a man and a woman, 
when di'essed in one and the same robe. This is the cause 
of a great deal of cormption in the nunneries. The nuns 
admit a number of boys into the nunneries, and bring them 
up in all the duties pertaining to the females. Only a few 
years ago a number of nunneries were searched by the peo- 
ple of Canton, and the most marvellous stories respecting 
sexes were. brought to lieht. 

Let us now cast a glance at the relation of China to the 
rest of the world. 

The Chinese correspondent of the Bulletin is said to have 
accused foreigners of having opened China by force of 
arms and against the wishes of the people. If the first 
war of Great Britain with China had really been a war about 
opium, why did Great Britain not enforce its legalization? 
The war was caused bv the arrofi^ance of the Chinese Em- 
peror. The East India Company had not treated with 
China on an equal footing, but had sent her requests in the 
fonn of a petition. In 183J: the chai*ter expired, and a 
representative of the sovereign of Great Britain was sent 
out to treat with China on terms of perfect equality. To 
call Great Britain a dependency of China, and to designate 
her just demands with the stigma of rebellion, shows the 
height of childish aud culpable aiTOgance. To submit to 
such insults would have forever branded the name of 
Britain with ignominy and cast an indelible slur on her flag. 
When everything failed, China appealed to arms, was de- 
feated, and had to open her ports. 

So long as a nation is not in the way of another, it may 
do whatever it likes. It differs when it impedes and en- 
dangers the highroads of nations. To allow the Japanese 
to imprison every sailor cast upon her shore, as they were 
in the habit of doing before the arrival of Commodore 
Peny, would have been the height of folly; and to leave the 
Pacific to the rule of the Malay and Chinese pirates, would 
have been the abandonment of every principle of right 



19 

and justice. Europe suffered the piracies of the Algerians, 
because they could not help it; but when thej became tired 
of the nuisance, thej requested France to take possession 
of Algeria. Europe defended itself against the aggres- 
sions of the Turks, until they felt it necessary to apply a 
thorough remedy. The Turks had to yield, and there the 
matter ended. 

If China desires to be left alone, she must first prove her 
capacity for keeping her own home free from danger to 
others. She must keep the highways of the world free from 
pirates, that peaceful sailors may pass along without being 
attacked and murdered. If she cannot or loill not, other 
nations will do it for her. The relation of one State to 
another is regulated by the same principle as the relation 
of a fellow-citizen to another. A person may build his 
house upon ^ heap of rubbish, and tower the same material 
around his house as high as a mammoth tree. But when the 
State finds it necessary to construct a railway or build a town 
in the neighborhood, the rubbish has to be removed as soon 
as it becomes a nuisance to the neighborhood. The per- 
petuation of barbarism is utterly impossible, and if John 
Chinaman means to live in a civilized community, he must 
allow himself to be civilized or quit. The concessions 
made to China in the treaty were made on the supposition 
that the Chinese were disinclined to emigrate en masse. I 
have, before 1855, shown the folly of such a supposition, 
for the Chinaman is essentially of a migratory and preda- 
tory habit. He claims all the rights and privileges of inter- 
national law without conceding one. They concede a 
principle not from a feeling of justice and equity, but 
because they cannot help it. This is exemplified by the 
conduct of Yeh and consorts during the late war, when they 
not only wantonly fired upon the American flag, but en- 
deavored to sink the boat in which the American Consul 
was sailing along. In a similar manner have all the per- 
secutions of foreigners been organized by the literati and 
connived at by the Government. 

The imbecility of many foreign representatives has been 
manifested in the manner in which they treated the various 
murders and persecutions of perfectly innocent and harm- 
less men and women, and in the manner in which they con- 



20 

eluded the late treaty with China. After having had ten 
years of experience, and seeing the inclination of the Chi- 
nese to emigrate by hundreds of thousands, they should 
have regulated the influx into this State in such a manner 
as would have given satisfaction to everybody; or should, 
like Great Britain, give power to the local legislature to 
make such laws as are deemed necessary for the welfare of 
the State for whom they legislate. 

China has made different laws for different ports. You 
may import or export certain articles of produce in one 
port, but you are prohibited from doing the same in another. 
The importation of grain is a benefit to the Chinese in 
every part of China; but to admit Chinese rice into San 
Francisco at a low rate is ruinous to the native farmer. 

As a stranger in this land, I do not wish to mix with pol- 
itics, which do not concern me. But the law of reciprocity, 
if applied to China, has a wider range, and deeply affects 
all the nations of the world. The Chinaman returns from 
this shore, prouder, richer and more daring than when he 
left. He tells the most absurd stories of foreign countries 
and the foreigners, and shuts his door to such as are willing 
to improve his own countrymen. Eeturning to his native 
land, he is as ignorant of machinery as when he left, and 
the money he has earned is spent in feeding and clothing 
the spirits of the other world. It may be of some conso- 
lation to the people of the Eastern States to see a quarter 
of a million of Europeans landing on their shores. They 
may care little about their brethren on the coast of the Pa- 
cific; they should, however, not forget the duty they have 
towards such as are 3000 miles nearer to Asia, and exactly 
so many miles further from Europe. It is not an arduous 
task for an ambassador to speak of philanthropy when, be- 
sides incidentals, he has a salary of $15,000 a year. It may 
be more pleasant to flatter Asiatic dignitaries and to con- 
cede every demand they make, than to defend the right and 
interests of the State they represent. But they gain nothing 
by their yielding to childish representations and excuses, 
and are only laughed at by allowing themselves to be im- 
posed upon by the shrewd Oriental. 

Full reciprocity of privileges should be demanded by 
California. If the Chinese are unwilling to concede the 



21 

same privileges, California should demand protective stip- 
ulations in tlie revised treaty, or powers of legislation 
adapted to her geographical position. These are just de- 
mands, and must be granted hj every prudent and consid- 
erate Government. A Government must never act on the 
principle of expediency, but must be far-sighted, and pre- 
vent the sowing of seeds of mischief for future generations. 
Most of those who speak the loudest of philanthropy and 
equality of races are generally such as say with Confucius : 
*' Honor the gods, but keep them at a distance." If they 
would go into the smoky dormitories of their gods, and try 
to convert the vicious that are congregating around their 
majesties — if they would visit the poor of this country, and 
listen to their just complaints — they would then feel it to 
be their duty to unite their influence with the public, and 
assist in effecting a revision of the treaty, based upon prin- 
ciples of justice and equity. 



-"-;>>/? 



i;«^^-t.^^--:^»4; 








LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




